The Effect of Temperature and Body Size on Filtration Rates of Limnoperna Fortunei (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) under Laboratory Conditions

Ano: 2009 | Volume: 52 | Número: 1

Autores: Débora Pestana, Antonio Ostrensky, Walter Antonio Pereira Boeger, Marcio Roberto Pie

Palavras-chave: invasive species, condition index, scenedesmus sp, algamac-2000®, environmental impact

Resumo Inglês:

The golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei, Mollusca: Bivalvia) is an invasive species that has been causing
considerable environmental and economic problems in South America. In the present study, filtration rates of L.
fortunei were determined in the laboratory under different temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 28, and 30 ºC) and two
types of food (Algamac–2000® and the chlorophycean alga Scenedesmus sp.). There was a statistically significant
relationship between time and filtration rates in the experiment using Scenedesmus sp., regardless of temperature.
However, this pattern was absent in the experiment using Algamac, suggesting that the relationship between
filtration rates and temperature might depend on the size of the filtered particles. In addition, there was no
correlation between filtration rates and either shell size or condition index (the relationship between the weight and
the length of a mussel). The filtration rate measured in the present study (724.94 ml/h) was one of the highest rates
recorded among invasive bivalves to date. Given that the colonies of the golden mussel could reach hundreds of
thousands of individuals per square meter, such filtration levels could severely impact the freshwater environments
in its introduced range.